“The four Gospels occupy a central place because Christ Jesus is their center.” -CCC #139
While it is true that all of Scripture is about Jesus Christ, the Gospels have him as their subject in an unveiled way. It is also true that the Gospels are, in a sense, biographies of Jesus. As such, we should expect to find a great deal of similarity. But, it should also not surprise us to find some differences. Like any biography, the author will select those events that will make his or her central point with the audience they are targeting.
For example, Matthew’s Gospel is written primarily for an audience of Christians who were formerly Jews. He therefore may choose events and notice details about those events that see Christ as the new Moses or the fulfillment of Judaism. Someone writing to a group of Christians who were not from a Jewish background, like Mark’s Gospel, would have a very different process for deciding which events to include and which details were most important to emphasize.
The Gospels are biographies, but they are so much more. They are invitations to faith in Jesus as the Christ. The human authors and the divine author are communicating the things that Jesus really said and did while on earth, but they do so with an eye to conversion of our hearts. Jesus himself performed many signs and did wonders, but he always did them to establish his authority to teach. The Gospels do much the same. They tell the story, but not to amaze us with the cool things that Jesus did. Rather, the Gospels mean to invite us to accept Jesus and his redemptive work.
 | About Pat Arensberg Patrick Arensberg is the Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Mobile. Previously, he taught for 17 years at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, where he served as Chairman of the Theology Department. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome and holds an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is married to Connie and they live in Mobile with their 5 children. |
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